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“They put me on ward 113 and I got settled. But then the doctor said I was being discharged and I was frightened to death because I didn’t think I was well enough. Mentally I wasn’t ready. I was suffering with short and long-term memory loss and my legs were crucifying me.

“Next thing there was a taxi waiting outside the door with a wheelchair. I was still wearing the hospital pyjamas and was dropped off at the Macari Centre.

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He recalled: “I was drinking when I was at school and that just went from there. At its worst I would drink eight or nine cans of super-strength lager with what money you could scrounge or find. The drinking helps you cope with where you are at any moment.

"Heroin came around in a big way when I was 17 and that has been prevalent throughout my life. It’s very easy to go from pharmacy drugs to heroin and that is very dangerous.

"Heroin is the worst - it is evil. It’s changed my life completely. I’ve tried in the past to come off heroin but it’s a hard thing to do as it’s always on your mind every day. Even when you’ve packed it in for months it’s still there on your mind. It’s like your first crush and your first heartbreak.”

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It is not known what arrangements had been made before Andrew turned up at the Macari Centre.

A Royal Stoke spokesman said: “Mr Harvey was discharged as a medically-fit patient. We paid for Mr Harvey’s taxi on his discharge and the private-hire driver collected him directly from the ward where he was then taken to the Macari Centre."